1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a retractable modem cord, and more specifically to such a modem cord incorporating a spinning display.
2. Background Art
Most modern computers include a modem device for connecting the computer to the telephone system. Typically, this is done using a standard telephone cable (or cord as it is usually referred to) constructed of an insulated cord containing conductors with plugs at either end, typically so-called RJ-11 connectors. One of the connectors is plugged into a socket on the computer that interfaces with the modem device and the other connector is plugged into a similar socket in the room in which the computer is being used. This latter socket interfaces with the telephone system. Typically, these sockets are so-called RJ-11 jacks. Alternately, the modem can be a stand-alone device which is connected to the computer. In such a case, one of the connectors is plugged into a jack on the modem device, in lieu of the computer, and the other end is plugged into the telephone system jack. In a home or office setting where the computer is typically a desktop computer, a dedicated telephone cord is used to make the above-described connection. It is usually plugged into the computer and the telephone jack and left undisturbed.
However, with the increased popularity of mobile computing, desktop computers are replaced with laptop, notebook, or hand-held computers. A user of such portable computing devices connects the device to the telephone system at whatever location he or she may be at the time, such as hotel rooms, airport waiting areas, and a myriad of other locations. To make the connection, the user must have a telephone cord, as described above. While, a standard telephone cord is often carried around by the user for this purpose, these cords can be somewhat cumbersome. Particularly, a user will typically have to coil the telephone cord to make it convenient for storing and transporting. The coiled cord must then be un-coiled for use. Often the cord becomes unraveled during storage, thereby making it difficult to retrieve. In addition, in the process of uncoiling the cord, it often becomes tangled, and must be untangled in order to use it. Recently, convenient devices for preventing these types of problems have come into use. The device is often referred to as a retractable model cord.
A retractable modem cord is a device having a case inside of which is a reel with a modular-type telephone cord wrapped around it. The reel is configured such that either of the free ends of the cord, which are connected to the aforementioned telephone plugs or connectors, protrude from the case and can be pulled away from the case, thereby rotating the reel, and allowing the cord to un-wrap from the reel. As the cord unwraps from the reel, both end of the cord are extended from the case, even if only one of the cord ends is pulled. The cord is permanently attached at approximately mid-length to the reel so that the cord is never fully extracted from the retractable modem cord case. However, most of the cord can be pulled from the case and used to connect a user""s computing equipment to the telephone system, as described above. The reel is spring loaded in that as the cord is being pulled from the case, a spring comes under tension. This spring would retract the cord back into the case, if the reel could rotate freely in the opposite direction than it was rotated to extend the cord. However, this is temporarily precluded from happening by a locking device which allows the reel to rotate in the direction necessary to extend the cord, but not in the reverse direction. Thus, once extended the cord remains so while in use. Once the user is done with the cord and has disconnected it from the computing device and the telephone system jack, a manually-activated release accessible from the outside of the case is used to release the reel locking mechanism. The spring which is still under tension then rotates the reel in a xe2x80x9ctake-upxe2x80x9d direction and the two halves of the cord are automatically reeled back into the case. The openings in the case through which the two halves of the cord extend and retract, as well as the pathway from the reel to the openings are configured to cause the cord to wind onto the reel smoothly without kinking or tangling. The case can then be easily stored and transported by the user. Thus, it can be seen that the retractable modem cord eliminates the problems of having to coil and uncoil the telephone cord, as well as the problems associated with the cord becoming unraveled during storage or tangled when being uncoiled.
The above-described retractable modem cord devices are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and have become popular as promotional products where a design or logo is imprinted on the outside of the case where it is visible to the user and others. These designs and logos are intended as advertising and as a bonus make what could otherwise be an inconspicuous device into an item of interest to bystanders, thus making the device a source of free publicity for the company or organization whose design is imprinted on the outside of the device.
The present invention is directed toward an improvement to the existing retractable modem cord devices described above. This improvement involves creating a window in at least one face of the case of the device, through which a design, such as a pattern, inscription, or logo can be seen. When the cord of this improved retractable modem cord device is pulled out of the case it causes the design to rotate. Likewise, when the cord is retracted back into the case, the design spins. Thus, anyone observing the retractable modem cord device will see the spinning design. It is believed this spinning design will be even more interesting to observers, thus lending special appeal to the improved retractable modem cord device.
More specifically, the retractable modem cord device according to the present invention includes a case having a viewing port on its front side through which a rotating display plate can be seen. This viewing port can be open to the outside, or if desired, it could be formed using a transparent window. The display plate has a design on its exterior facing side which is visible from the outside through the viewing port. The retractable modem cord device also includes a telephone cord, which in one mode is fully retracted within the case with the exception of the two free ends of the cord that extend outside the case through separate openings in its periphery. The two ends of the cord terminate in the previously-described telephone-type connectors. The connectors are larger than the openings in the periphery of the case, and so the free ends of the cord are prevented from retracting completely into the case. In the fully retracted mode, the tension applied to the cord is sufficient to hold the connectors against the periphery of the case. In addition, there are two nooks formed in the case just outside of the openings through which the ends of the cord extend. Each connector is housed within the confines of a different one of the nooks when the cord is completely retracted. The result is that in the retracted mode, the connectors are held within the nooks, which provides a degree of protection to the connectors during storage and transport of the retractable modem cord device. The cord can be manually extended from the case by a user, so that the cord can be used to connect the modem associated with a computing device to the telephone system. Specifically, the cord is manually extended from the case by a user pulling on either of the two ends of the cable via the connector. The connectors are still readily accessible when housed in the nooks so as to allow a user to grasp one or both of the connectors to pull on them and extend the cord. In the case where the user pulls on just one of the connectors, the end not pulled is extended automatically, thereby extending both ends of the cord simultaneously. In this way the two ends of the cord are played out, with the case of the device remaining approximately at the mid-point of the extended length of the cord. The retractable modem cord device also includes a locking and release mechanism that has lock which once the cord has been extended by the user prevents the cord from retracting back into the case, despite the influence of the tension on the cord. Thus, the user pulls the cord to the desired length, or to its fully extended length, and then lets go of the connector(s). The lock of the locking and release mechanism prevents the cord from being retracted. The user then plugs the connectors into the modem jack on a computing device (or directly into the modem if it is a stand-alone unit) and into the telephone system jack, respectively. When the user is done using the modem connection, he or she unplugs the respective connectors, and manually activates a release that is part of the locking and release mechanism. This release is used to release the lock, thereby allowing the cord to be retracted back into the case under the influence of the tension on the cord.
Whenever, the cord is extended or retracted, the aforementioned display plate rotates, thus providing an interesting spinning design. The design on the display plate can be incorporated in a number of ways. For example, the design could be formed as part of the exterior facing surface of the plate, such as by embossing or engraving. The design could also be formed over the surface of the exterior facing side of the display plate. This could be accomplished using paint or ink. Alternately, the display plate could be made using a label and a backing plate. In this later case, the design would be on a front side of the label which acts as the exterior facing side of the display plate. This label is attached to the backing plate by its back side to complete the display plate.
The case of the retractable modem cord device can have any desired shape. For example, the case when viewed from its front side can have a shape approximating a circle, ellipse, or some form of a polygon (e.g., a triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, etc., or a combination thereof). The viewing port can also take on any desired shape, and need not be the same as the case. Likewise, the display plate can have any desired shape, although a circular disc shape is preferred to facilitate its rotation within the case. In one version of the present retractable modem cord device, the display plate is flush with the interior surface of the case adjacent the viewing port. In another version, the viewing port is an opening in the case and the display plate extends through the opening. Typically, with this latter version, the display plate extends only far enough to be flush with the exterior surface of the case adjacent the viewing port, although this need not be the case if it is desired that the display extend outside the case.